I am sure that each of you are just like me and you are running around trying to get as much accomplished before the year ends as you can.  Whether it is trying to get the last-minute gifts made or find the perfect gift, they would often look better if they were personalized, wouldn’t they?  Any of the embroidery machines from Brother will help you do that but don’t forget a few of the basic rules for finding success with personalization.  My young friend Tracy was telling me last evening that she had purchased pretty scarves for her friends for Christmas. She wanted to add their initials to each of the scarves. This is her very first embroidery project so these basic rules are important to her as well.

Remember to put a piece of cut-away stabilizer beneath the scarf and put them in the embroidery hoop for your machine.  For a project like this I would also recommend that you put the same color and thread in the bobbin that you will be using for the top thread.  Another of my friends also likes to use a “topper stabilizer” on the top as she embroiders, as well.  When she is done she then pulls the remaining topper away from the edge of the letters and trim the lower stabilizer as close to the letters as possible.  In this case the result will be that the letters will be better formed on the top and the bottom and my friend Tracy will be proud of her personalized gift.  Since I bought a scarf for my niece, I think I will take my own advice and personalize her gift as well.  I will be sure to use the smallest hoop that letters will fit in to as well since there would be no sense to use a large hoop for a one-inch-tall letter.  The PE-700ii sold here has great letters and the perfect 4-inch-square hoop for monogramming. 

Remember any of the embroidery machines will create the most beautiful monograms but the Brother PR-620 is the perfect machine to make a few extra dollars with.  This 6 needle embroidery machine is easy to use and perfect for personalizing team hats, uniforms or adding initials to those popular quilted handbags that you all love to carry. You can embroider baseball caps or jacket backs but here is something to consider…a few months ago the Brother advertising agency conducted a survey among 1000 owners of this machine and the most popular product line for owners of this machine was equestrian accessories.  That’s how durable this machine is! 

Another part of this season is trying to find the time to read the mountains of mail that we all get.  Today we received the alumni magazine for the college that one of our sons went to and I happened upon an article about two women who had met by chance in an executive MBA program only to find that they both had a connection to the Woman with a Cause non-profit program.  A current cause for this program is to building a sewing center in India.  An area of concern found success when women were taught the trade of sewing so they could support themselves and their families.  The next part of the cycle is that these same women use their finances to educate their children and loan money to the men in the village so they can become self-sufficient as well. This is certainly a great success story for two ladies who found a way to way to help others.  The tagline that they have attached to this inspiration gives pause for thought as well, “Teach a Woman to Sew and a Village Blossoms.”  

I invite you to take the same thought and reach out to a friend or young person in 2009 and teach them how to sew and watch them blossom!